Culture & Entertainment
Music, film, television, radio, news, books, games, the arts and the long tail of oddities.
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“Love” Is Fading from Song Titles, 1959–2025
How many of America's 20 biggest songs each year have "love" in the title, 1959–2025: about one in eight through the 1990s, 3 of 120 since 2020.
Updated 2025 -
Fewer New Faces in Pop Music, 1965–2025
How many of the artists behind America's 20 biggest songs each year were there for the first time, 1965–2025: 19 of 20 in 1972, 4 of 17 in 2025.
Updated 2025 -
Too Young, Too Old: Pop Stars’ Ages, 1959–2025
The age of the solo star behind each of America's 20 biggest songs of the year, 1959–2025: teenagers and 60-year-olds in the 1960s, nobody 40 or over since 2017.
Updated 2025 -
It Takes Two: Hit Songs by More Than One Act, 1959–2025
The share of America's 20 biggest songs each year credited to two or more acts, as duets or features, 1959–2025: rare in the 1960s, nearly half by the late 2010s.
Updated 2025 -
Hit Songs: The Rise and Fall of “Featuring”, 1959–2025
How many of America's 20 biggest songs each year credit a featured artist, 1959–2025: none before 1990, about four in ten in the early 2000s, and few today.
Updated 2025 -
Where Did the Bands Go? 1959–2025
America's top 20 hits by solo artists, duos and groups, 1959–2025: groups had most of them in the late 1960s and none in 2025.
Updated 2025 -
It Takes a Room to Write a Hit Song, 1959–2025
The credited songwriters on America's top 20 hits, 1959–2025, from under two per song in 1959 to more than six today.
Updated 2025 -
The Keys of the Hit Songs, 1959–2025
Every top 20 hit since 1959 on a wheel of the twelve keys, major and minor, building year by year; C major leads.
Updated 2025 -
Pop Songs Went Minor, 1959–2025
The share of America's top 20 hits written in a minor key, 1959–2025, from about one in eight in the early 1960s to more than half in the late 2010s.
Updated 2025 -
Long Songs Out, Short Songs In, 1959–2025
How long America's biggest hits run, 1959–2025: songs over four minutes rose to 70 percent in the 1990s, and songs under three minutes are back.
Updated 2025